Scientist patents additional cancer-fighting compounds
Shengmin Sang, a food scientist with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, has received another patent for compounds comprising aspirin and ginger derivatives that have shown promise for preventing and treating cancer.
Shengmin Sang, a food scientist with North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, has received another patent for compounds comprising aspirin and ginger derivatives that have shown promise for preventing and treating cancer. This patent supplements a patent Sang received in 2015 for other novel aspirin-derived compounds.
Combining aspirin and ginger derivatives with anti-cancer properties, the newly patented compounds are more effective than their individual components in killing colon cancer cells in laboratory tests. The compounds are prodrugs, which become pharmacologically active when they are metabolized.
In addition to their anti-cancer properties, the new ginger-based derivatives have the potential to reduce the irritation of the digestive system frequently caused by aspirin. If the compounds can lessen those adverse side effects, more patients could benefit from aspirin’s ability to prevent or treat colon cancer, heart disease, and other disorders.
In March, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University signed an exclusive licensing agreement with SARISA Therapeutics, an Invensure company based in Minneapolis, to commercialize Sang’s patented aspirin-derived compounds.